The learning of another person can be an infinitely challenging goal - I use the word "infinitely" because sometimes we never get there. (The learning of 30-plus children or 150-plus adolescents proves more challenging still!) Yet, teachers have to keep trying. What distinguishes a teacher from a presenter is that a presenter can fall back on the phrase: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." For a teacher, this is not good enough. A presentation can be one-size-fits-all. Teaching demands the flexibility to use a variety of approaches where appropriate. A presentation can be a one-shot deal. Teaching involves an ongoing dedication to learning. For a presenter, the presentation is the end. For a teacher, learning is the end, whenever that happens.
A presenter can lead a horse to water and call it a day. A teacher has to stick around to see if the horse drinks. And if the horse does not drink, it is back to the chalk board, so to speak. The teacher can implement a variety of strategies, like modeling how to drink the water, showing how other horses drink water, cooling the water to make it more refreshing, even sweetening the water to make it more appetizing. Of course, even after such a valiant effort, the horse may still not drink. Defeated and exhausted, the teacher is then forced to reflect on ways to be more effective next time.
(A similar version of this post was originally published @www.teachingforlearning.org on July 18, 2011)
A presenter can lead a horse to water and call it a day. A teacher has to stick around to see if the horse drinks. And if the horse does not drink, it is back to the chalk board, so to speak. The teacher can implement a variety of strategies, like modeling how to drink the water, showing how other horses drink water, cooling the water to make it more refreshing, even sweetening the water to make it more appetizing. Of course, even after such a valiant effort, the horse may still not drink. Defeated and exhausted, the teacher is then forced to reflect on ways to be more effective next time.
(A similar version of this post was originally published @www.teachingforlearning.org on July 18, 2011)